Steve Geoghegan column: Iannazzo's all heart

Published 7:01 pm, Friday, June 15, 2012

I was happy to see Norwalk's own Matt Iannazzo sign with the Chicago Cubs on Thursday after getting passed over in the draft.

Having covered the lefty pitcher since his Babe Ruth days, I knew the kind of bull dog on the mound he has always been. He wanted the ball in the big spot and more often than not he got the job done.

He's been able to excel in youth baseball, high school and college. Now he's going to prove all the doubters wrong and that he can make it in the pros.

Iannazzo has always had his skeptics, especially regarding his 5-9 frame, but from what I've learned about him is that if you tell Matt Iannazzo he can't do something, it makes him that much more determined to succeed.

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He's got a long way to go but he's going to give it everything he has, like he always does, and maybe he'll be able to open up more people's eyes as to his ability.

You can measure a person's height but you can't measure their heart and Matt Iannazzo is all heart.

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The Norwalk Junior Legion baseball team really showed me something.

The Juniors, who were not playing with their full complement of players, found a way to win by scoring all of their runs in an unspectacular way to vault them past a tough Greenwich squad by a 3-0 score on Thursday.

They had an RBI groundout and two sacrifice flies in the victory. Not the most exciting recap but it got the job done.

That's the kind of baseball a fan can appreciate. Get the baserunner to third base with less than two outs and get the runner in.

It's winning baseball, bottom line.

Find a way to score a couple runs, get solid pitching and defense and a team will win its fair share of games.

That's what the Norwalk Junior Legion baseball team is doing for the most part this season with a 5-0 record.

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As for the defending state champion Norwalk Senior Legion team, it has gotten off to a slow start at 2-2 but it's still early.

The Seniors have dealt with bad weather and injuries so far and they haven't been able to get into any kind of rhythm yet.

There's too much talent on that team so it's just a matter of time before the Seniors turn things around.

• • •

Now that the high school season has come to an end, it's going to be all about baseball, baseball and more baseball this summer.

I'm sure Norwalk will be well-represented with all of the great programs it has so be sure to read about how all the local teams are doing in The Hour.